Houston Traumatic Brain Injury Lawyer

A traumatic brain injury is a devastating blow in any family. If you or someone you know suffers a serious brain injury, you’re looking at years of expensive medical bills, significant loss of income, and intense physical and emotional pain. These factors can leave Houston families in dire financial straits, leaving them with few options. However, if you or someone you know suffered a major brain injury due to someone else’s actions, you may be entitled to compensation.

The Value of Having a Traumatic Brain Injury Lawyer On Your Side

If you or a loved one is dealing with a traumatic brain injury, dealing with a complicated court case is likely the furthest thing from your mind. You’re dealing with doctors, hospitals, caring for yourself or your family member, and the emotional weight that comes from any major injury. You don’t need the hassle of trying to pursue a claim like this yourself.

This is where an attorney with experience handling traumatic brain injuries can be invaluable. You may not have the time or energy to pursue your case, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t pursue your legal rights. You may need the resources from a traumatic brain injury claim to cover medical bills and other expenses, and an attorney can get you the damages to which you are entitled. Hiring a lawyer will also help when it comes time to negotiate a settlement or determine damages; they’ll know more about what kinds of compensation you’re entitled to and how much you can win.

Why Choose Gibson Hill?

Personal injury claims, including traumatic brain injury cases, are what we specialize in at Gibson Hill Personal Injury. We’ve helped hundreds of clients pursue their legal rights after an injury, and have the results to back up our work. Co-founders Ty Gibson and Brett Hill have spent nearly a decade pursuing personal injury claims of all sizes, from $1,000 to more than $100 million. We handle every case personally, and we treat you with respect and compassion with aggressively representing you in court. In fact, our strong track record of positive outcomes for our clients led to Gibson being named to the National Trial Lawyers Top 40 Under 40 list.

Here’s what some of our clients have to say about our work:

“I don’t really know how attorneys work, very new and inexperienced on how the processes are done. Mr. Hill handled my case from beginning to end without me having to worry or wonder what was going on. He explained in detail anything that was confusing. I understood the process of the lawsuit filed and did not have to deal with anyone else at all. All paperwork was handled extremely quick! I was surprised to find out I got my settlement sooner than estimated and it went directly into my account – no large check to take to the bank – huge plus. I couldn’t think of a better attorney to take care of me in the way he did. Thank you so much!”

“… I could not ask for better lawyer. Caring, explaining every detail of the case, always available and my check in the end over-exceeded my expectations. Also, probably worth mentioning that my case had one more injured person … who went with another lawyer and as far as I know got a much smaller paycheck. I hope my friends would never need that kind of services, but in case they will, I have a really awesome and aggressive lawyer to recommend them.”

What is a Traumatic Brain Injury?

A traumatic brain injury, also referred to as a TBI, is an injury that causes a disruption to the normal functions of the brain, according to the American Associate of Neurological Surgeons. This disruption can range from mild to extremely severe depending on the nature of the accident that caused the damage. A concussion is an example of a mild disruption, whereas a blood clot in the brain, a skull fracture, or ischemia may result in a severe disruption of brain function.

Traumatic brain injuries are one of the leading causes of death and disability in the United States according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In 2014, there were an estimated 2.87 million traumatic brain injury-related emergency room visits, hospitalizations, and deaths in the U.S. Many of those involved were children and elderly adults. The leading causes for these types of injuries continue to be falls and motor vehicle collisions.

Traumatic Brain Injury Cases We Handle

Traumatic brain injuries can result from many different circumstances. Some of the most common types of brain injury cases include:

• Slip-and-fall cases- It’s very easy to hurt your head if you suddenly slip and fall on a slick surface. In fact, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say that in 2014, there were about 2.9 million TBI-related emergency room visits, hospitalizations, and deaths nationwide. More than 837,000 of these incidents involved children, and TBI contributed to the deaths of nearly 57,000 people that year. Falls accounted for nearly half of TBI-related emergency room visits. If you or someone you know sustained a brain injury due to a fall, you may have a claim if the property owner acted negligently in some fashion.
• Motor vehicle accidents– Auto accidents are one of the most common ways people sustain traumatic brain injuries. The CDC reports that 18.7 percent of all TBI-related deaths in 2014 were due to motor-vehicle accidents. If you hurt your head in a car crash, you may have a personal injury claim if the other driver was impaired or acted negligently in some manner.
• Falling objects or debris– You can easily sustain a traumatic brain injury if you’re hit in the head by falling debris. This can happen on construction sites, at work, or even just walking around your neighborhood. A property owner or another individual can be held liable if they acted recklessly and their actions let to your injury. This may fall under the doctrine of premises liability, depending on the circumstances of the case.
• Dangerous premises– Similarly, property owners can be held liable for injuries if they haven’t taken proper precautions to ensure the safety of visitors and tenants. Heavy machinery, slipshod working conditions, poor maintenance of stairs and other passageways, and other dangers can all lead to serious brain injuries under the right circumstances.
• Workplace accidents– Employers are required to provide for the safety of their employees while they’re on the job. If thorough measures aren’t taken or the company cuts corners, they can put their workers in serious danger and be held liable for any injuries.
• Construction accidents– There are a number of ways to sustain a brain injury while working in or being around a construction site. A worker may drop something that hits a passer-by on the head, or they may fall and hit their head if the proper safety protocols aren’t enforced. Construction sites also involve the use of heavy industrial equipment, and malfunctioning or poorly maintained machinery can explode or cause an injury in other ways.

There are two broad categories of damages in a traumatic brain injury case: General damages and special damages. General damages are also called non-economic damages, and they refer to things that cannot easily be replaced with money. This includes emotional distress, mental anguish, physical pain and suffering, loss of companionship, and so on. Special damages are losses that are more easily made up for with monetary compensation, which includes lost wages, property damage, a decreased ability to earn a living, medical expenses, and funeral or burial expenses (in the event of a wrongful death).

Proving a traumatic brain injury claim often involves proving the guilty party acted negligently in some way. There are four components to proving a negligence claim related to a traumatic brain injury:

• The defendant must be legally responsible for being reasonably careful toward the plaintiff as it regards their injury.
• The defendant did not act with reasonable care toward the injured person.
• The defendant’s actions, or lack thereof, caused the brain injury.
• The plaintiff’s injuries are measurable under the relevant statutes.

Expert testimony is often required to prove a traumatic brain injury claim. If you choose to hire Gibson Hill Personal Injury for your case, we will fully investigate the circumstances around your injury and determine if someone else is responsible for what happened to you. Should that be the case, we will bring our experts to trial so they can tell your story. From there, we’ll build your negligence case to make sure the guilty party is held to account and you receive the compensation you deserve. Be sure to get in touch with us at the earliest opportunity, as Texas has a two-year statute of limitations on filing personal injury claims, including those related to a traumatic brain injury.

Types of Traumatic Brain Injuries

Several different types of traumatic brain injuries can befall an individual involved in an accident. Some of these injuries are open, while others are considered closed. Either form can result in significant damage to the brain. Open injuries are typically the result of a violent act, such as a car or truck accident or even a significant fall. An open injury happens when the skull is broken, and the brain is exposed as a result.

A closed head injury damages the brain without exposing it to the environment outside the skull. A common example of a closed head injury is whiplash resulting from a car accident. The force of the accident can send a person flying forward suddenly, and then they are quickly jerked back by a seatbelt. As the head moves quickly back and forth with the momentum of the impact, the brain can be rammed up against the skull, bruising it.

Some of the most common types of conditions that can be associated with traumatic brain injuries may include:

• Concussion
• Contusion
• Hematoma or blood clot in the brain
• Ischemia or insufficient blood supply to the brain
• Skull fractures
• Intracerebral hemorrhage or bleeding in the brain tissue
• Penetrating brain injury
• Diffuse axonal injury or tearing of the brain’s nerve fibers

If you’ve suffered from any of these or any other form of brain injury as a result of an accident or someone else’s negligent behavior, contact the legal team at Gibson Hill Personal Injury today. You may be able to recover valuable compensation for your injury, including medical expenses and lost income. As a traumatic brain injury victim, you have rights, and the legal team at Gibson Hill Personal Injury wants to help you protect those rights.

What is the Value of a Brain Injury Claim?

Determining the value of a traumatic brain injury claim can be difficult. How do you put a price on one of the most crucial and vital organs of the human body? When it comes down to it, the value of a brain injury claim can largely depend on the extent of the injury itself and the nature of the accident that caused the injury.

In general, victims can reasonably expect to be able to collect economic and non-economic damages. Economic damages are measurable losses, such as medical expenses, lost income, and the loss of earning capacity. These damages can be tabulated relatively easily. Non-economic damages, on the other hand, are more subjective. These damages cover pain and suffering, emotional distress, and quality-of-life changes. These cannot be tabulated by totaling up pay stubs, receipts, or bills.

In almost all situations, economic damages cannot be capped. However, in some situations, such as medical malpractice cases, for example, Texas does place a cap, or limit, on the amount of money a victim can recover for non-economic damages. In some severe situations, punitive damages may also be recovered. These are damages that are meant to punish the liable party for gross negligence or malicious behavior.

Settlements for traumatic brain injury cases can range from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of dollars, and some cases can even reach into the millions. For a more accurate estimate of what your traumatic brain injury claim may be worth, you need to consult with an experienced attorney that knows how to handle these sensitive cases.

At Gibson Hill Personal Injury, we will assess your situation with compassion and patience and give you a reasonable expectation of what you may be able to recover in the way of compensation for your case. We can also answer your questions and help prepare you for what’s ahead.

If you’ve suffered a traumatic brain injury and want more information about your legal rights, contact the team at Gibson Hill Personal Injury today. We can start you off with a free, no-obligation consultation to review your situation and lay out how we may be able to help you recover compensation.

Consequences of Serious Brain Injuries

Traumatic brain injuries can have lasting consequences for victims. These types of injuries can significantly impact a person’s ability to hold a job, interact with family and friends, and can decrease their overall quality of life. In more serious cases, the victim may end up requiring extensive and continuing medical treatment, intervention, and rehabilitation for the rest of their life.

The brain controls everything that we do, the movements we make, the breath we take, and the way we think and interact with others and the world around us. Damage to this vital organ can compromise almost every system of the human body depending on the extent of the damage and the area of the brain impacted. The consequences of a TBI can include:

• Cognition difficulties
• Loss of motor skills
• Loss of hearing
• Loss of vision
• Loss of memory
• Memory problems
• Concentration problems
• Paralysis
• Epilepsy
• Speech issues
• Inappropriate or uncontrollable emotional responses
• Behavioral changes
• Communication problems
• Breathing problems
• Headaches
• Fatigue
• Sleep problems
• Depression
• Persistent vegetative state (PVS)

These consequences may add up to a lifetime of medical care and intervention. Can you afford the cost? The team at Gibson Hill Personal Injury is committed to helping you recover the financial compensation you deserve after a serious accident or injury you sustained due to someone else’s negligence.

Contact a Houston Traumatic Brain Injury Attorney Now

If you or a loved one have suffered a serious brain injury due to someone else’s negligence or an intentional act, contact Gibson Hill Personal Injury right away. Our experienced Houston injury lawyers will be ready to help you get the maximum compensation possible for your claim. You can learn more by calling us today at (713) 659-4000 for a free consultation.